Does Bft guarantee a franchisee's lease?
Bft Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
- 7.2 Lease. Franchisee is solely responsible for purchasing or leasing a suitable site for its Studio.
Franchisee must submit the lease for the Studio to Franchisor for its written acceptance before Franchisee executes the lease for the Authorized Location.
in Franchisor's then-current form of lease addendum, the current form of which is attached as Exhibit 4, or substantially similar provisions acceptable to Franchisor ("Lease Addendum");
Landlord and Tenant, intending that BFT Franchise SPV, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, ("Franchisor") (and its successors and assigns) be a third-party beneficiary of this Addendum, agree as follows:
(1) Tenant may display the trademarks, service marks and other commercial symbols owned by Franchisor and used to identify the service and/or products offered at the Studio, including the name "BFT," the Studio design and image developed and owned by Franchisor, as it currently exists and as it may be revised and further developed by Franchisor from time to time, and certain associated logos in accordance with the specifications required by Franchisor, subject only to the provisions of applicable law and in accordance with provisions in the Lease no less favorable than those applied to other tenants of Landlord;
(2) Tenant shall not, and the Landlord shall not permit Tenant to, sublease or assign all or any part of the Lease or the Premises, or extend the term or renew the Lease, without Franchisor's prior written consent;
(3) Landlord shall concurrently provide Franchisor with a copy of any written default notice sent to Tenant and thereupon grant Franchisor the right (but not the obligation) to cure any deficiency or default under the Lease, should Tenant fail to do so, within five (5) days after the expiration of the period in which Tenant may cure the default;
(4) The Premises shall be used only for the operation of a BFT Studio;
(5) Tenant may, without Landlord's consent (but subject to providing Landlord with written notice thereof), at any time assign this Lease or sublease the whole or any part of the Premises to Franchisor or any successor, subsidiary or affiliate of Franchisor;
(6) In the event of an assignment of the Lease to Franchisor as described in (6) above, Franchisor may further assign this Lease, subject to Landlord's consent, such consent not to be unreasonably withheld based on the remaining obligations of assignee under the Lease, to a duly authorized franchisee of Franchisor, and thereupon Franchisor shall be released from all further liability under the Lease;
Source: Item 10 — FINANCING (FDD page 37)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Bft's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, Bft does not guarantee a franchisee's lease. The FDD states that the franchisee is solely responsible for securing a suitable site for their studio, whether through purchasing or leasing. The franchisee is required to submit the lease agreement to Bft for written acceptance before executing it.
However, the lease agreement must include provisions that are substantially similar to those in Bft's current form of lease addendum. This addendum, as detailed in the FDD, includes stipulations such as allowing the franchisee to display Bft's trademarks and requiring the landlord to provide Bft with copies of any default notices sent to the franchisee. Bft also retains the right, but not the obligation, to cure any default under the lease if the franchisee fails to do so.
Furthermore, the lease addendum specifies that the premises can only be used for operating a Bft studio. The franchisee can assign the lease or sublease the premises to Bft or its successors without the landlord's consent. If the lease is assigned to Bft, Bft can further assign it to another franchisee, subject to the landlord's consent, after which Bft is released from further liability under the lease. These stipulations provide Bft with some control over the lease and the use of the premises, but do not constitute a guarantee of the franchisee's lease obligations.